15 Years Ago today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above the 10,000 mark for the first time during the height of the Internet boom. It was the beginning of the end, which started a year later after the NASDAQ peaked at an all-time high of 4,048.62 on March 10, 2000. It was all downhill in the dot-com bust from that point on. But what can you expect from a frenzy that results in an online property spending $188 Million in a mere six months in an attempt to create a global online fashion store?
The lesson here is that if something looks too good to be true, it’s probably too good to last. If a supplier is significantly undercutting the market in their bid to win your business, it’s a desperation move and cutting prices to levels that are barely at, or below, cost is not going to improve the supplier’s financial viability. If your newly launched product is commanding a considerably larger share of the market than you expected, the market was probably a blue ocean and your lead will only last until a rival launches a similar product with new features and more marketing dollars behind it. If everything has been going smooth in your supply chain for the last year, given the current rate of supply chain disruptions and the ever increasing frequency of black swan attacks, your luck is probably about to run out. So be prepared for the unexpected. It’s bound to happen eventually, and likely sooner than you think!